Abdullah Hassan Al Aseery (Arabic: عبد الله حسن عسيري) was a Saudi Arabian member of al Qaeda.[1][2][3][4] His name is an ascription to the 'Asir Province of Saudi Arabia. He died in August 2009 while attempting to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of the Interior in a suicide bombing.

Al Aseery spoke to the Prince a few days prior to the bombing, expressed a desire to turn himself in as part of the country's terrorist rehabilitation program,[6][7][8][9] and they agreed to meet.[10] This was an apparent ploy to get admitted to the Prince's palace. Al Aseery is believed to have traveled to Jeddah from the Yemenite province of Marib.

On August 27, 2009, Al Aseery waited in line at Bin Nayef's Jeddah home as "well-wisher," a tradition in the kingdom during Ramadan. He exploded a suicide bomb (perhaps with a cell phone), killing himself, but only lightly injuring the Prince (who was protected from the full force of the blast by Al Aseery's body).[11][12]

"I did not want him to be searched, but he surprised me by blowing himself up," said Prince Mohammed, who appeared on state television with a bandage around two of his fingers on his left hand."However, this will only increase my determination" to fight terrorism in the kingdom.[13][14]

According to early reports, Al Aseery had hidden PETNplastic explosives in his anal canal, which security experts described as a novel technique.[15] Later reports indicated that according to forensics, the explosives had been sewn into his underwear.[16][17][18]

According to Al Arabiya, this was the first assassination attempt against a royal family member since 2003, when Saudi Arabia faced a sharp uptick in al-Qaeda linked attacks.[19]